Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 6, 2026

Assessing Changes in Synaptic Plasticity Using an Awake Closed-Head Injury Model of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Published on: January 20, 2023
Anesthesia and concussion
1aDepartment of Neurology bDivision of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Purpose Of Review:
As clinicians preparing patients for general anesthesia, should we consider the possibility of concussion in our elective operative patients? If so, why is this necessary? Is it possible that exposure to an anesthetic is detrimental to recovery from concussion? If so, what should we do about the imperative/urgency for surgery? No answers are promised in this review. Rather, the focus is on the questions and approaches taken in the recent literature, as well as highlighting a need for more research.
Recent Findings:
Surgery, pain and general anesthesia all influence autonomic nervous system responses. Intravenous and inhalational anesthetic agents are also known to have variable effects on the cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) to carbon dioxide (CO2). This review adds to this general information the recent, specific physiologic alterations seen after concussion in autonomic system function and the CVR to CO2.
Summary:
This review provides a perspective about autonomic nervous system function and cerebrovascular effects of concussion, and some relevant clinical issues that warrant further clinical study.
More Related Videos
14:52Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers
Published on: January 13, 2018
08:45A Novel and Translational Rat Model of Concussion Combining Force and Rotation with In Vivo Cerebral Microdialysis
Published on: July 12, 2019
Related Concept Videos
General Anesthesia: Overview
General anesthesia induces unconsciousness in the whole body, while the others target specific areas or sensations. It is administered to minimize adverse effects, maintain...
Stages of General Anesthesia
Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview
Inhalational Anesthetics: Overview
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Surface, Infiltration, and Conduction Block Anesthesia
Local Anesthetics: Clinical Application as Spinal Anesthesia